Piece of Wild West history to reopen

6:47 PM,
Jun. 24, 2013

Silver Reef Museum Director Eric Fleming, left, talks to visitors Nov. 19, 2011 near a statue of a Wells Fargo stagecoach created by artist Jerry Anderson. The county-owned museum, mostly shuttered since October of last year, will reopen July 1.

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A museum showcasing Washington County's ties to the rough-and-tumble mining era of the Wild West will reopen next week after struggling to overcome a lack of funding.

The Silver Reef Museum has been largely closed since October, opening occasionally on Saturdays for visitors but otherwise in danger of becoming a shelved museum piece itself.

The non-profit board operating the museum has dispersed, but a new group called the Silver Reef Foundation will reopen the doors July 1 to the only museum owned by Washington County, museum director Eric Fleming said. ...